Such a process and such a device are described and shown in German Pat. No. 31 05 597. In the known process, apart from a fraction consisting of magnetic metals and a granulate fraction, at least one light fraction is formed from the waste, passing through all the stages of the process and only being obtained at the end of the process. Since the light components make up the largest portion of the available waste, and considering that paper and packaging materials make up around 40% of the waste, the known process involves a considerable expenditure of work, energy and time, and thus considerable operating costs, which increase the cost of the fractions.